neverhappened

Chocolade Haas

Not for the squeamish chocolate lover...

Download chocoladehaastitels.mov

Absinthe

I've enjoyed the Green Menace only once, on a houseboat in Amsterdam.  That seemed like a pretty good setting for a first taste.  Next I'd like to try some of the recreations that have been reverse engineered from original bottles from the days before it was banned.  You can buy those here and read about them here.  Or if you are of the DIY inclination here's a recipe for Absinthe that you can make yourself, from this site (it's in german).

Absinthe

One ounce dried chopped wormwood

One tablespoon angelica root

One teaspoon hyssop

(wormwood, angelica root and hyssop and be bought here)

One half teaspoon coriander seeds

One quarter teaspoon caraway seeds

One pinch cardomon pods

One tablespoon fennel or anise seeds

750 ml. 100 proof vodka

In a glass container add the wormwood to the vodka. Set aside in the dark for ten days. For extra-powerful absinthe, use Everclear or 151 rum instead of vodka. This will give you an authentic green-colored tincture (the green comes from the chlorophyll, and does not indicate the presence of the active ingredient, thujone).100 proof vodka works best.

Strain out the wormwood and add all the remining herbs and spices. Wait four more days, then strain these out and serve. Best drunk straight in short shots with water chasers.

Link to where to buy the real stuff

Link to Wired article about Ted Breux, who recreates original Absinthe and is responsible for Nouvelle-Orléans Absinthe

Steve, Don't Eat It! Vol. 8

"Prison hooch can be made in your cell toilet (as long as you don't mind using other people's toilets or finding some other solution), or more often, in plastic trash bags. The recipe is simple: make a strong bag by double or triple-bagging some plastic trash bags and knotting the bottoms. Into this, pour warm water, some fruit or fruit juice, raisins or tomatoes, yeast, and as much sugar as you can get ahold of (or powdered drink mix). Now tie off the top of the bag, letting a tube of some kind protrude so the thing won't explode while it gives off carbon dioxide. Now hide the bag somewhere and wait at least three days. A week is enough.

One of the problems you have right away with making wine in prison is the difficulty getting yeast. It's a strictly forbidden item and you might not be able to get any. In this case you can improvise the by using slices of bread, preferably moldy (but not dry) and preferably inside a sock for easier straining.

If you choose to brew your wine in your cell, you'll need to hide it behind your bunk and do what you can to hide the smell. Burning cinnamon as incense is one way. Spraying deodorant around is another. Normal wine takes at least a month if not six weeks to make at all properly -- but in hell, this is all you get."
Link

the surreal gourmet

Including the famous Dishwasher Salmon recipe

Link

Barbecue Wisdom

Everything You Thought You Knew About Grilling Is Wrong

chef's tattoos

Link

Neverhappening: Acid Bar, Emerald Hill

This comes firmly on the drink side of the Food and Drink category, but if you are in Singapore this friday, come down to the Acid Bar (next to the Alley Bar in Emerald Hill) after 9pm. I'll be there, so if you see me greet me with the secret neverhappened handshake. It's just like a normal handshake, but you stare into the other person's eyes with fiendish intensity bordering on insanity. Simple.  Here's the official invite text:

FRONTAL  Presents:

Open Mix Sessions

Supported by Heineken Music

Friday, 25th Feb 9pm

Acid Bar (Emerald Hill, next to Alley Bar)

Bear witness to the future of club music, as the most forward thinking musicians and DJs come together to create a night of elemental grooves. The Open Mix backed by a combination of vocalists, visual artists and keyboardists; along with the finest DJs in the industry, is a brand new clubbing experience. Open your eyes and ears; and embrace the soundclash of robotic beats against lush warm melodies. Feast on the kaleidoscope of vibes and atmosphere. The future of clubbing is here.

Binlang

Not exactly a food, but something you chew to pass the time while in Taiwan.  About the size and colour of an acorn, split like a hotdog bun with some kind of rusty red paste smeared inside and half of something that looks a bit like a mini lotus head for the hotdog.  Chewing them is strangely addictive and somehow hedonistically pleasurable in the same way that smoking a cigarette can be - you know it's gotta be bad for you but you do it anyway.  Until you quit because you have bad breath and stained teeth and you are standing outside in the cold spitting with a bunch of people you don't really know.

Recommended.

Outstanding White Wine

If you are looking for something to wash down some dumplings, I heartily recommend any sauvignon blanc from Marlborough New Zealand.  The most famous one seems to be Cloudy Bay, but you can't go wrong really.  Wither Hills is also great, and cheap too, as is my current preferred plonk Oyster Bay.  You can buy Cloudy bay pretty much anywhere, though I had some trouble in Hyderabad (it could have been just that the tuk tuk driver was being difficult).

Hot or Not Post

Hot:

Listening to Owls
Cosmopolitans
Standing in the rain

Not:

Pacific Internet's broadband going down all over Singapore today
Hangovers
Having finished watching every episode of Sex and the City